Public Description:
S. 2619, the Children Returning on an Expedited and Safe Timeline Act, would attempt to address the surge at the Southwest border by redefining undocumented alien children (UAC). Unfortunately, in doing so, it actually expands the definition to include all children who cross the border without a parent or legal guardian. Under current law, a UAC must not have a parent or legal guardian inside the U.S. Therefore, such an expansion would place an enormous number of children who were otherwise ineligible through the UAC process. While the bill would add immigration judges and ICE attorneys, criminalizes "spotting" and other illegal alien activity, and fines parents whose children fail to appear at immigration proceedings, it also expands the use of alternatives to detention. Most egregious, this bill increases refugee admissions from Central America by 15,000 per year and begins in-country refugee processing.
